US president says ‘help is on its way’, as reported death toll rises into the thousands and concerns Tehran may carry out first protest-related execution, that of Erfan Soltani

• Trump promises ‘help is on its way’ and tells Iranians to ‘keep protesting’

• Hundreds of gunshot eye injuries found in one Iranian hospital amid brutal crackdown on protests

The death toll from a crackdown on protests in Iran has jumped to at least 2,571, including 12 children, activists said early on Wednesday.

The figure came from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran in recent years.

At least four displaced Palestinians killed when strong winds caused walls to collapse onto their tents and a one-year-old boy died of hypothermia

Strong winter winds collapsed walls onto flimsy tents for Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, killing at least four people, as dangerous living conditions persist after more than two years of devastating Israeli bombardment and aid shortfalls.

A ceasefire has been in effect since October, but aid groups say that Palestinians broadly lack the shelter necessary to withstand frequent winter storms.

K-pop band to start tour in April after nearly four-year hiatus due to all seven members needing to complete South Korea’s mandatory military service

The BTS comeback is upon us: the K-pop septet has announced a 2026-2027 world tour, kicking off in South Korea in April and running through to March 2027 with more than 70 dates across Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Europe.

The tour marks the group’s first headline performances since their 2021–22 Permission to Dance on Stage tour.

9 April and 11-12 April – Goyang, South Korea

17-18 April – Tokyo

25-26 April – Tampa, Florida

2-3 May – El Paso, Texas

7 May and 9-10 May – Mexico City

16-17 May – Stanford, California

23-24 and 27 May – Las Vegas

12-13 June – Busan, South Korea

26-27 June – Madrid

1-2 July – Brussels

6-7 July – London

11-12 July – Munich

17-18 July – Paris

1-2 Aug – East Rutherford, New Jersey

5-6 Aug – Foxborough, Massachusetts

10-11 Aug – Baltimore

15-16 Aug – Arlington, Texas

22-23 Aug – Toronto

27-28 Aug – Chicago

1-2 Sept and 5-6 Sept – Los Angeles

2-3 Oct – Bogotá, Colombia

9-10 Oct – Lima, Peru

16-17 Oct – Santiago, Chile

23-24 Oct – Buenos Aires, Argentina

28 Oct and 30-31 Oct – São Paulo

19 Nov and 21-22 Nov – Kaohsiung, Taiwan

3 Dec and 5-6 Dec – Bangkok

12-13 Dec – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

17 Dec, 19-20 Dec and 22 Dec – Singapore

26-27 Dec – Jakarta

12-13 Feb – Melbourne, Australia

20-21 Feb – Sydney

4 March and 6-7 March – Hong Kong

13-14 March – Manila, Philippines

Wood wins the award for fiction for his ‘utterly immersive’ novel Seascraper while Perry picks up the nonfiction prize for her memoir Death of an Ordinary Man

Booker-longlisted author Benjamin Wood has won this year’s Nero book award for fiction for his novel Seascraper.

Meanwhile, Claire Lynch won the debut fiction category for A Family Matter, and Sarah Perry’s Death of an Ordinary Man took the nonfiction prize. Jamila Gavin was awarded the children’s fiction prize for My Soul, A Shining Tree.

Research also shows teenagers in care are four times more likely to try to end their lives than peers with no care history

One in four teenagers in care have attempted to end their own life, and are four times more likely to do so than their peers with no care experience, according to a landmark study.

The research analysed data from the millennium cohort study, which follows the lives of 19,000 people born in the UK between 2000 and 2002, and considered how out of home care, including foster, residential and kinship care, affected the social and mental health outcomes of the participants.

From his competitive debut to his first spell as interim, the former midfielder has seen much at Old Trafford over the past two decades

23 August 2006, Charlton 0-3 Manchester United The 25‑year‑old new signing was eased into United’s midfield as a second-half substitute in the second game of the season, having picked up a small injury on the pre‑season tour. With Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes suspended, Sir Alex Ferguson started with John O’Shea and Darren Fletcher in central midfield, with the Scot (sporting a mullet) opening the scoring after Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo had hit the woodwork. Carrick was one of four future United managers in the side, alongside Fletcher, Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who rounded off the win with a late goal after Louis Saha had doubled United’s lead. Solskjær’s goal was his first in the league in three injury-hit years, and the Norwegian, also a substitute, should have had another when Carrick squared a perfect pass to the striker, only for Charlton’s Scott Carson to make an outstanding save. With Carrick an instant success at United that season, the club roared to the title in May 2007, their first in four years.

Trump officials announce ‘largest operation in DHS history’ as 800 border agents flood into city alongside ICE

Federal officers in Minneapolis used teargas and eye irritant against activists on Tuesday as the Department of Homeland Security announced it was carrying out “its largest operation in DHS history”, deploying hundreds of border agents on top of the thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents already in the city.

A DHS official told CBS News that there were currently 800 Customs and Border Protection agents and 2,000 ICE officials in the Minneapolis area as tensions have risen in recent days.

Eddie Howe was not exactly overjoyed to learn that, rather than being cup-tied, Antoine Semenyo was free to play for Manchester City here.

Sure enough the Newcastle manager’s worst fears were realised as the winger – who played in the competition this season for Bournemouth – scored City’s opener and had another “goal” disallowed before Rayan Cherki’s stoppage-time second put the smile back on Pep Guardiola’s face.

Groups say EEOC demand for names and personal details echoes dark history and threatens safety and civil rights

Several faculty groups have denounced the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain information about Jewish professors, staff and students at the University of Pennsylvania – including personal emails, phone numbers and home addresses – as government abuse with “ominous historical overtones”.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is demanding the university turn over names and personal information about Jewish members of the Penn community as part of the administration’s stated goal to combat antisemitism on campuses. But some Jewish faculty and staff have condemned the government’s demand as “a visceral threat to the safety of those who would find themselves identified because compiling and turning over to the government ‘lists of Jews’ conjures a terrifying history”, according to a press release put out by the groups’ lawyers.

Study from research firm finds that US greenhouse gas emissions grew faster than economic activity last year

In a reversal from previous years’ pollution reductions, the United States spewed 2.4% more heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels in 2025 than in the year before, researchers calculated in a study released on Tuesday.

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to a combination of a cool winter, the explosive growth of datacenters and cryptocurrency mining, and higher natural gas prices, according to the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Environmental policy rollbacks by Donald Trump’s administration were not significant factors in the increase because they were only put in place this year, the study authors said. Heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas are the major cause of worsening global warming, scientists say.

A murderous Clockwork-Orangey gang take on the zombies in this gruesome and energised fourquel. It’s the finest of the 28 franchise by a blood-curdling mile

It’s very rare for a fourquel to be the best film in a franchise, but that’s how things stand with the chequered 28 Days Later series. In this one, which follows immediately on from the previous episode, 28 Years Later, Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell bring pure death-metal craziness. There is real energy and drama in this latest iteration of the post-apocalyptic zombie horror-thriller saga, created by director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland back in 2003, with Nia DaCosta taking over directing duties for this film. Fiennes’s dance to Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast is basically one of the most extraordinary moments of his career. At the screening I attended, we were on our feet, looking for a speaker bin to headbang into. The band surely has to rerelease this track with Fiennes’s performance as a new official video. His Voldemort was never so freaky.

It is just so exhilarating to see this intergenerational face-off between such superb actors as Fiennes and O’Connell. That brings us to the point of my agnosticism about this whole franchise; Bone Temple is the best for an interesting reason – because the zombies are almost entirely irrelevant and are at a minimum. The always slightly dull business of zombieism is de-emphasised, and what counts is the conflict between sentient human beings. Even the one important zombie here is interesting because he is being transformed into something else.

Experts say obscuring plane’s military identity would constitute a war crime

The US aircraft that carried out the first airstrike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean was reportedly disguised as a civilian plane – a possible war crime.

The New York Times reported that the aircraft had been painted to obscure its military identity, and its munitions were hidden inside its fuselage rather than visible under its wings.

• Shiffrin wins sixth slalom of season at Flachau

• Moltzan finishes second in American one-two

• Shiffrin nears slalom crystal globe before Olympics

Mikaela Shiffrin completed another dominant night in Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday, winning a World Cup slalom to extend her season-long stranglehold on the discipline while leading an American one-two finish with teammate Paula Moltzan.

Shiffrin followed up her fastest opening run with a composed second run to finish 0.41sec clear of Moltzan, claiming her sixth victory in seven slalom races this season. It was also Shiffrin’s record-extending 107th career World Cup win, her 70th in slalom and her sixth slalom victory on the demanding Flachau course.

A ruling against two athletes in West Virginia and Idaho could have far-reaching implications for civil rights

The US supreme court on Tuesday appeared poised to uphold laws banning transgender girls and women from competing in female sports in two conservative states, in a landmark legal battle that could carry profound implications for trans rights across US society.

During oral arguments on two cases of trans students who sued over Republican-supported laws in West Virginia and Idaho that barred them from girls sports, one member of the court’s conservative majority after another voiced skepticism about the students’ cases.

The unwritten rule in professional tournaments? Do not hog the practice court. But as leading players testify – the reality is very different

On a cool Wednesday afternoon before the US Open last year, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev were busy fine-tuning their games in an intense practice set at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, semi-finalists in the mixed doubles tournament, were scheduled to take their place at the hour and the American pair duly arrived a couple of minutes before their allotted slot.

An amusing scene soon unfolded. Medvedev and Zverev were clearly desperate to continue playing for a little longer, but their court time had run out. The pair began to sheepishly deliberate over whether to attempt to play another game, even lining up on the baseline again, and they still occupied the court past the hour. Finally, they admitted defeat, allowing Collins and Harrison, who had been standing quietly on the sidelines, to begin.

Dr Ezekiel J Emanuel, a former Obamacare adviser, has deceptively simple advice for living a healthy life

Being healthy shouldn’t feel this complicated. Yet every week brings a new wellness fixation, from “fibermaxxing” to “zone 2 training”, creatine and cortisol-hacking.

Between prescriptive plans, complex science and often contradictory advice, it can seem like being healthy is a full-time job – or a hopeless cause.

Prime minister is yet to receive a formal invitation, but the Guardian has been told that Starmer is expected to accept

Keir Starmer has been offered a place on the Gaza “peace board” set up by Donald Trump as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The prime minister was asked to sit on the board by a senior member of the Trump administration. The Guardian has been told that Starmer is expected to accept but has not yet received a formal invitation, while conversations about the exact makeup of the board are continuing.

• Tomlin never recorded losing season with team

• Steelers had endured long run of playoff losses

Head coach Mike Tomlin is leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 seasons, the team confirmed on Tuesday.

“Obviously, I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years. It is hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “He guided the franchise to our sixth Super Bowl championship and made the playoffs 13 times during his tenure, including winning the AFC North eight times in his career.”

⚽️ League Cup updates, 8pm GMT kick-off at St James’ Park
⚽️ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And send Barry a mail

An email: “G’Day Bazza,” writes Chris Paraskevas from Australia. “It’s a civilized 0700 kickoff for those of us Down Under and there is only one question on Newcastle fans’ collective hive mind: will Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga wear matching headbands tonight?

“As the season has progressed, Gordon has moved from plain black headband to a branded Adidas one, but Elanga’s game and fashion have comparatively stalled this season - maybe he’ll go fot something spicey, like one of the bandanas the gangsters wear in Blood In Blood Out.

The UK government is threatening Elon Musk’s X with a ban. The social media platform is under pressure from ministers over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children to remove their clothes. Ofcom, the UK’s media regulator, has launched an investigation into X – and the government says it will support a ban if Ofcom decides to press ahead.

Court’s conservative majority signaled it was leaning towards agreeing with legality of Idaho and West Virginia laws, which would be major blow to LGBTQ+ rights

• The trans youth athletes fighting for their rights: ‘Playing is an act of resistance’

• How the US supreme court case on trans athletes could unravel LGBTQ+ rights

On the issue of whether the case is moot, the justices have said they would wait to make a decision about whether to dismiss it until after today’s argument.

A reminder that Lindsay Hecox, the transgender college student who challenged Idaho’s state law, sought to have her case dismissed in September, arguing that she is no longer pursuing sports and doesn’t want further harassment.

Idaho’s law classifies on the basis of sex, because sex is what matters in sports. It correlates strongly with countless athletic advantages, like size, muscle mass, bone mass and heart and lung capacity.

Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport called Brexit a nightmare, and said he hoped a reset with the EU would mean ‘light at the end of the tunnel’

British vets have been forced to chase lorries down the motorway on their way to Dover due to the “pure hell” of Brexit paperwork needed by inspectors in Calais, MPs have been told.

Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport told the business and trade committee that Brexit has been a costly and logistic nightmare, and hopes of a reset with the EU represented “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Attacking Jerome Powell distracts from Republicans’ thin legislative record and policies that continue to squeeze American household incomes

The US government’s authoritarian and vexatious attack on Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, should be seen in the light of America’s affordability crisis, which Donald Trump once dismissed, but is now scrambling to claim as his cause. The cost of living is eroding his support ahead of the congressional midterms. By launching a legal assault on the Fed, Mr Trump is trying to shift blame for borrowing costs.

Yet despite controlling the presidency, Senate and the House, Republicans have passed little beyond a large tax-cutting bill that benefits the rich. They have not legislated on housing supply, childcare, healthcare costs or wages. Indeed most of their actions are worsening affordability, notably deferring action even though millions face a sharp rise in their health insurance bills. Mr Trump’s sudden enthusiasm for credit card caps and housing interventions is pure opportunism.

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Approval shortly before Keir Starmer’s trip to Beijing would come despite widespread concern among Labour MPs

A vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London is almost certain to be formally approved next week despite renewed worries among Labour MPs about potential security risks and the effect on Hong Kong and Uyghur exiles in the capital.

The green light for the super-embassy at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge would smooth relations before Keir Starmer’s visit to China, which is expected to take place at the end of January, but officials insist there has been no political input in the planning process.